As the Yukon government finalizes an arrangement that would keep him, his family and even his mayor from getting near the town’s only golf course, Dawson City gold miner and inventor Greg Hakonson suspects he is the victim of a vendetta.

“[The terms] are still pretty vague; they said Greg Hakonson, Greg’s spouse, any children of Greg, any children of the children of Greg, you know,” said Mr. Hakonson.

In the latest “hit list” drafted by government lawyers on Oct. 1, current Dawson City mayor Peter Jenkins even makes the cut as a Hakonson, despite ending his marriage to Mr. Hakonson’s sister nearly 20 years ago.

“It’s extremely vindictive,” said Mr. Jenkins, adding that the clause “encumbers a lot of people unbeknownst to them.”

Family ties run deep in the former Gold Rush capital, home to a year-round population of about 1,000. Mr. Hakonson’s family has been in the territory since just after the construction of the Alaska Highway.

“I’ve got nieces and nephews – and some of them involved in sport – are they going to be allowed to get involved with the golf course?” said Mr. Hakonson.

The course in question is the Top of the World Golf Course, a nine-hole course complete with pro-shop, driving range and power carts.

Built by Greg’s father Bill Hakonson in the early 1990s, the course has long been a point of contention with territorial authorities. In 1993, Bill secured a $296,800 loan from the territorial government to develop the property but then failed to pay it back, reportedly because he thought he did not need to.

As interest built up, the amount owing climbed to more than half a million dollars.

Upon his death last year, Bill asked that the course be turned over to “the citizens of Dawson City,” provided the Yukon government would clear his estate of any “encumbrances,” according to settlement documents.

This could have been a success story for [the Yukon government] … but instead they want to stick this last knife in the back, I guess

Territorial officials agreed, however reluctantly, and by December cabinet ministers were already discussing golf plans in the legislature. “I’m not very good at it, but I give it my best and I have a lot of spirit, so if and when, I look forward to the opportunity,” mused deputy premier Elaine Taylor.

But when government lawyers finally arrived last summer with a settlement agreement, it contained the added caveat that nobody even remotely connected to Bill Hakonson would be allowed to “operate or manage, or participate in the operation or management” of the course until the year 2032.

“They have some concern we’re going to sneak in the back door and take it over,” said Mr. Hakonson. “Why we would want to do that, I don’t know.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, opening one of Canada’s most Northern golf courses was a money-losing venture for the elder Hakonson. While midnight sun tee-times remain the course’s specialty, it is covered by snow up to eight months of the year.

“It’s lost money every year — oh, I’m lying, one year it made six dollars,” said Mr. Hakonson.

Greg Hakonson’s own relations with the Yukon government reached a breaking point in 2009, when he was one of four directors to resign in protest from the board of Yukon Energy Corporation, the Crown Corporation tasked with generating the territory’s power.

The resignation was in response to revelations that Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie was carrying out secret negotiations to sell off the territory’s power infrastructure to private firms at a severely reduced rate.

Although Mr. Fentie has since resigned, his party — the Yukon Party — retains majority control over the Yukon legislature.

“I’m pretty confident that the basis of this goes back to Yukon Energy Corp. and my involvement there,” said Mr. Hakonson.

Representatives with the Yukon Department of Finance did not return emails and lawyer Graham Lang refused comment.

Sandy Silver, Yukon MLA for the Klondike, called the government’s response bizarre, considering the golf course is likely worth much more than the $500,000 Bill Hakonson owed.

“In my opinion, the Hakonsons were going above and beyond for the betterment of the community, and then they get stuck with this clause,” said Mr. Silver.

“This could have been a success story for [the Yukon government] … but instead they want to stick this last knife in the back, I guess,” he added.